Jacob j



(No Model.) J. J. BUSENBENZ.

VENDING APPARATUS. No. 430,464. Patented June 17, 1890.

(Jacoia cffiusarz 3&2? W

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JACOB J. BUSENBENZ, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE UNITED STATESAUTOMATIC PERFUMING COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

VENDING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 430,464, dated J une17, 1890. Application filed February 20, 1890. Serial No. 3Q1,132. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J ACOB J. BUsENBENz, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Vending Apparatus, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in the class of vending apparatusrequiring a coin representing the price of the purchase to be insertedinto it to permit the delivery mechanism to be controlled to produce thedelivery of the article so purchased.

The object of my improvement is to provide an apparatus of the classreferred to especially for use in selling liquid perfumery, and whichshall operate by means of pneumatic pressure to effect the delivery andinvolve a simply constructed and durable and reliably operative deliverymechanism.

My invention consists in the general construction of my improvedapparatus; and it also consists in details of construction andcombinations of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents my improved vendingapparatus by a broken view in sectional side elevation, and Fig. 2 is aperspective view showing the sign detail.

A is the chamber for containing the supply of the article to be sold andthe delivery mechanism hereinafter described, and the chamber A shouldbe provided with a hinged cover 1', and be supported on a hollowstandard A ,cOntaining a coin -receptacle B, accessible through a door(1 ina side of the standard.

In the chamberA is a receptacle C for the article to be sold anddelivered by the apparatus and containing a float p on the end of a rod19', extending through the top of the receptacle, the vertical play ofthe float being limited by stops 0 and 0', respectively, outside andinside the receptacle on the rod 1). The

rod 1) is pivotally connected at its upper end with a lever mfulcrumedat 00 and extending toward an opening an in the front side of thechamber, where it carries a sign I, thus located just behind theopening, and which should have marked horizontally across its upperportion the name of the contents of the receptacle C, (kind of perfume,)and across its lower portion the word out, or some other indication ofthe empty or practically empty condition of the receptacle. As will beseen from the description of the float mechanism, when the receptacle Cis empty, the consequent low position of the float raises the lowerportion of the sign to view at the openingm, and if the receptaclecontains a material quantity of the liquid the position of the floatwill be sufliciently elevated to lower the upper portion of the signinto coincidence with the said opening.

D is a tube of flexible material (such as rubber) extending from nearthe base of the receptacle C through a bearing k toward the front sideof the chamber A, wherein it is connected with the rear end of a nozzleE, extending through such side of the chamber, and which preferablyterminates in a spraying-bulb '5.

F is a lever pivoted at its center, and thereby supported to tend toextend perpendicularly to a bracket it, through the medium of a shaft72/, supported in the bracket, and near the opposite ends of the leverF, extending from one side thereof, are the studs gand g, engaging,respectively, with fingers f and f, which I term valve-fingers, atelongated slots co in the rear ends of the latter, the fingers beingsupported in horizontal position in a bearing there to coincide with thetube D, and controlled by springs f and f confined between stops 00 andthe inner surface of the front wall of the chamber, into sockets inwhich the spindle ends of the valve-fingers extend, as shown.

C is a tube supported from one end against the inner surface of thefront side of the chamber A, to extend horizontally therein, as shown,and provided in its base with an opening 6, from which aconducting-tube6 leads into the standard A, through the base of the chamber A. A chuteH communicates at its lower end with the tube G at an opening 6 in itsupper side, near a partition 6 and slightly back of the opening 6 in theunder side thereof, and at its upper end the chute leads to a slot (notshown, but like slots in other devices of the kind to which my improvement relates) provided to extend horizontally through the front side ofthe chamber at s, as indicated in the drawings.

WVithin the tube G, and normally in position therein to cover theopening 6, but to extend beyond the opening 6 is a shorter sliding tubeG, open at or provided with an opening in its end adjacent to thepartition 6 and preferably closed at its opposite end, between which andthe inner end of the tube G, which is provided with an inwardly-openingcheckvalve 6, is confined a spring a. A plungerrod d, having a suitableknob d at its outer end, extends through the front side of the chamberinto the tube G, wherein itis reduced in diameter, as shown, andcontrolled by a spring 25, confined between the side of the chamber Aand partition 6 through which latter the plunger-rod extends. An arm his connected from near its upper end with an arm of a bentconnecting-bar 7L3, the other arm of which extends through a slot in thebase of the tube G into connection with the plunger-rod d. The lower endof the arm IL2 is secured to the shaft h.

Above the plunger-rod d a plunger-rod 0, having a knob c at its outerend, extends through the front side of the chamber A and is pivotallyconnected at a slot 0 near its innermost end, with a dog or catch to,pivotally supported on the upper side of the tube G and normallyextending at its hooked end into a slot 10 in the said tube near theinnermost end of the sliding tube G, when the latter is in its normalposition illustrated. The plunger-rod c is provided just inside thechamberA with a horizontally-disposed crossbar 1), preferably tapering,as indicated, on its side adjacent to the front side of the chamber, andagainst the opposite side of which bears a spring 1), the cross-bar thusforming a spring-clamp.

Near the innermost end in the upper side of the tube G is an opening'12, covered by an outwardly-openin g check-valve'v, and around which isa bulb o forming a coupling for one end of an air-pipe a, which extendsthence across the tapering side of the clamp I), between the latter andinner surface of the front side of the chamber A, and leads at itsopposite end through the bearing 7s into the tube D just above the planeof the valve f.

The operation is as follows, the parts being normally inthe relativepositions in which they are illustrated: By dropping a coin I- as apenny-through the slot into the chute H it falls therein through theopening e into the tube G, between the open end of the sliding tube Gand the partition 6 and being of greater diameter than the opening inthe inner sliding tube it covers the open end thereof, thus forming abearing for the inner end of the spring plunger-rod (Z. The sliding tubeis then a piston to force air admitted into the tube G through thecheck-vave if, under pressure into the pipe a. This is accomplished bypressing the spring plungerrod d against the coin I, whereby the pistonG is moved against the spring a toward the inner end of the tube G, andcompresses the air in the latter into the pipe at, wherein it isconfined between the point of closure at the clamp 19 and thecheck-valve o until released in the manner hereinafter described. Thepressure, which is exerted to the extent of the inward play of theplunger-rod d, brings the open end of the piston G beyond the pivotalhook 211, which then falls into engagement with such end and retains thetube G against being forced back by the resilience of the spring u whenthe plunger-rod (Z is re leased and returned by the action of its spring23. held in the manner described the coin l is in line with the fartheredge of the opening 6, so that when the plunger-rod d is released andrecedes, the coin being thereby freed from the pressure against it fallsthrough the conduit 6 into the coin-receptacle B. The purpose ofretaining the sliding tube G in its advanced position, as described, isto prevent coaction of the two springs to and t in expanding, when theplunger-rod d is released, from continuing to hold the coin and thuspreventing it from dropping. Normally the pivotal lever F is inposition, as illustrated, to advance the lower valve-finger fagainst thepipe D, to close it below the communication therewith of the air-pipe a,and retract the upper valve-finger f. Thus the tube D is normally devoidof contents (perfume) from above the pointof normal closure of the tubeat the finger f. NVhen the plunger-rod d is pressed inward-with theresult described, it also moves forward with it, through the bentconnecting-bar h the arm h This forward movement of the arm 71/2 movesthe upperend of the lever F, through the medium of the shaft 71/,ll1 thesame direction, and the lower end in the opposite direction. It is to benoted that the spring t, through the arm 7L2 and lever F, normallymaintains the upper valve-finger f in the retracted position shown,against the resistance of the spring f whereby the stud g is normallyagainst the forward end of the longitudinal slot as of the lowervalve-finger, while the stud g is for the same reason normally againstthe rear end of the longitudinal slot 00 of the upper valvefinger, andboth valve-fingers f and f are im mediately controlled by the resilienceof their respective springs f 2 and f Thus when the plunger-rod (Z ispressed inward, owing to the lost motion of the studs 9 and g in theslots 00, the upper valve-finger advances by the resilience of itsspring f 2 to compress the pipe D before the lower valve-finger isdisengaged from it. WVhen, however, the stud g reaches the rear end ofthe slot 00 engaging it, its further movement, under the continuedpressure upon the plunger-rod d, retracts the lower valve-finger f,thereby opening the pipe D below the valve-finger f to permit thecompressed air, when released, as hereinafter described, to blow theperfume ahead of it in Vith the piston G advanced and IIO the pipe D outthrough the nozzle E, where it may be caught by the purchaser, as byapplying a handkerchief or other article to be perfumed to thespraying-bulb t'. The release of the air confined under pressure in thetube a is produced after the rod (Z has been manipulated by inwardpressure upon the plunger-rod c, which disengages the spring-clamp bfrom the tube and permits the air confined therein to expand and forceout the perfume in the pipe D above the closure at the valve-finger f,and furthermore disengages the dog w, permitting the spring 25 to returnthe sliding tube G to its normal position. Of course, as will beunderstood, the results described as attending the inward pressure ofthe plunger-rods d and c are practically instantaneous. Upon releasingthe rod 0 the spring I) returns it with the clamp b to their normalpositions, and on releasingthe rod 01 its return by the spring t bringsback the valve-fingers f and f to their normal relative positions, thelower valve-finger f then remaining stationary in its advanced positionuntil the upper one has been advanced, owing to the lost motion of thestuds in the slots at. It will thus be seen that the coin I introducedinto the tube G is the primarily essential medium for permitting thedelivery to be accomplished, since without it the plungerrod (1 whenpressed inward enters the tube G Without moving the latter, thus withoutcompressing air into the pipe a for discharging the perfume admittedinto the tube D.

The somewhat intricate nature of the in echanism employed in my improvedapparatus renders the foregoing detailed description of the partsnecessary to permit the operation to be clearly comprehended. I do not,however, wish to be understood as intending to limit myself to the exactdetails shown and described, as these may be variously modified withoutthereby departing from my invention, which I consider to consist,broadly stated, in the general construction of the tubes G and G,whereby a coin introduced in the manner described will cause the plunger(1, by pressure upon it, to produce a supply of compressed airsufficient to deliver, when re leased, the article for the purchase ofwhich the coin is so inserted. In the same apparatus the number ofreceptacles C may be multiplied to any desired number practicable, andeach connected with a separate delivery to be actuated by the singleplunger (6 and tube G, with its immediately attending parts. This,however, is too obvious to require detailed illustration anddescription.

"What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a coin-operated vending apparatus, the combination, with a chamberA, of a tube G, containing a spring-controlled hollow piston G, open atone end, a plunger-rod (1, ex tending into the said tube, a chute H,communicating at its upper end with the coininsertion slot 8 and at itsopposite end with the tube G, near the open end of the hollow pistontherein, an outlet 6 in the tube for the coin, a receptacle 0, having anoutlet-pipe D leading outside the chamber, and an air-pipe a leadingfrom the tube G and controllably communicatin g with the pipe D,substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

2. In a coin-operated vending apparatus, the combination,with a chamberA, of atube G, containing a spring-controlled hollow piston G, open atone end, an inwardly-opening check-valve t and an outwardly-openingcheck-valve 4; in the inner end portion of the tube G, a springplunger-rod d, extending into the said tube through a suitable bearing 6therein, a chute H, communicating at its upper end with thecoin-insertion slots and at its opposite end with the tube G, near theopen end of the hollow piston therein, an outlet 6 in the tube for thecoin,

a receptacle 0, having an outlet-pipe D, leading outside the chamber,and an air-pipe a, leading from the tube at the check-valve v, andcontrollably communicating with the pipe D, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

3. In a coin-operated vending apparatus, the combinationavith a chamberA, of a tube G, containing a spring-controlled hollow piston G, open atone end, a plunger-rod d, extending into the said tube, a chute H,communicating at its upper end with the coininsertion slot 3 and at itsopposite end with the tube G, near the open end of the hollowpiston'therein, an outlet 6 in the tube for the coin, a receptacle 0,having an outlet-pipe D leading outside the chamber, spring-controlledvalve-fingers f and f, one above the other, in the plane of the pipe D,an air-pipe a, leading from the tube G into the pipe D near the lowervalve-finger f, and a springcontrolled plunger-rod 0, having a clamp 19engaging the pipe to, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. 7v

4. In a coin-operated vending apparatus, the combination, with a chamberA, having an opening m, of a receptacle 0, containing a float 29, havinga rod p extending through the receptacle and provided with stops 0 and0, respectively, without and within the receptacle, and a sign Z at thesaid opening and connected with the said rod, substantially as and forthe purpose set forth.

5. In a coin-operated vending apparatus, the combination,with a chamberA, of a tube G, provided with the valves 25 and '0, and containing aspring-controlled hollow piston G, open at one end, a spring plunger-rodd, extending into said tube, a chute H, communicating at its upper endwith the coininsertion slot 3 and at its opposite end with the tube G,near the open end of the hollow piston therein, an outlet 6 in the tubefor the coin, a receptacle 0, having an outlet-pipe D, leading to anozzle E in one side of the chamber, a lever F, provided with studs gand g near its opposite ends, spring-controlled Valve-fingers f andf',having slots 00 tube G at the valved), through the clamp 19 10engaged by the said studs and supported one into the pipe D, near thelower Valve-finger above the other in the plane of the pipe D, f, theWhole being constructed and arranged a spring-controlled plungerrod 0,having a to operate substantially as described.

clamp C and en a in at its inner end With a pivotal catch 1!? far thehollow piston G, an JACOB BUSENBENL' arm hieonneeted from one end withthe plun- In presence of ger-rod d and at its opposite end with the J.\V. DYRENFORTH, shaft h, and an air-pipe a, leading from the M. J.FROST.

